The past several years have seen a rise in the popularity of more classical forms of music pressing their way into the mainstream. With artists like Josh Groban and Il Divo paving the way, Susan Boyle and the Celtic Women troupe have found great success in the general market. Yet, while most of those artists tend to occasionally throw an inspirational tune or two around, it’s the rare CCM artist that’s really taken a sacred music approach to the genre. Enter Diana Stimmler-Winkler. Singing since a young age and gaining real focus during her college years, the artist has honed her skills a member of several choirs and music ministries, most recently coming to serve at Palmcroft Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Toss in some Spanish language ministry and Stimmler-Winkler finds herself with a solid foundation to build upon. After several years of singing and longing, the artist’s dreams have been realized with the independent release of her first album, Classic Favorites. Bringing together a collection of choral and classic favorites alongside some more contemporary Christian hits, the artist attempts to fill the gap between the old and the new, with mixed results.
The album opens with “O Holy Night,” a song and style clearly in Stimmler-Winkler’s wheelhouse. With a classically styled piano backing her vocal, the artist lets her soprano voice loose on the classic holiday song. Tom Fettke’s “The Majesty and Glory of Your Name” is another piano-driven track that fits the artist’s style nicely, as does the Brooklyn Tabernacle classic “He’s Been Faithful.” Soaring high notes color the solo piano of “The Holy City” and some very subtle guitar allows Stimmler-Winkler to show off her foreign language chops on “Jehovah, Senor de Los Cielos.”
Andrew Greenhalgh - Review You
(Mar 14, 2011)